Missouri State crushed by Creighton

Doug McDermott had five of Creighton’s 15 three-pointers to finish with 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Bluejays returned home for the first time in 15 days with a 91-77 win over Missouri State on Wednesday night in Omaha. Missouri State fell to 6-16 on the year and is 4-6 in Valley action.

Creighton controlled most of the first half, using a scoring attack from long-range to build a 45-32 halftime lead. The Jays took the lead for good on a three-point play from Gregory Echenique to lead 10-7. The margin reached double-figures for the first time at 28-17 on a McDermott three-pointer, and an Avery Dingman trey just before the first half horn gave CU its largest lead in the first 20 minutes at 45-32.

McDermott had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists in a first half that saw eight different men score for CU. Gavin Thurman led the Bears with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

Creighton’s lead in the second half reached as large as 24 points before MSU whittled it down to 14 in the two minutes thanks to three-pointers by Marcus Marshall, Dorrian Williams and Michael Simpson.

The national leader in field goal percentage, Creighton shot 55.6 percent for the contest and were 53.6 percent from three-point range. CU also owned a 34-21 advantage on the glass and dished 24 assists on 30 baskets.

MSU was paced by 21 points from Thurman, who tied his career-best. Also in double-figures were Williams (14), Marshall (10) and Christian Kirk (10). Anthony Downing entered the contest with a streak of 10 straight games in double-figures end as he was limited to nine points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field. MSU shot 54.7 percent for the game and made 11-of-20 three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough on a night where one of the nation’s most efficient offenses was clicking on all cylinders.